Tuesday, July 26, 2016
One of the core
conversations at the 2016 edition of TECHPLUS, was the role of women in
technology.
Experts at the
agenda-setting event acknowledged that it was time for women to be given the
space to work and find their feet and also for women themselves to show more
level of involvement.
"It is important
we pay attention to women," said Emilia Asim, who sits on TECHPLUS
Advisory Committee. "Women and young people make up a larger quota of the
population all over the world. That is where women in technology come in."
"Women have to be
given an opportunity to be better included. Technology is now used as a tool
for gender inclusion all over the world."
According to TECHPLUS,
women in technology is focused on driving the greater inclusion of women in the
technological space, opening up the vista for gender-balance, feminine
friendliness, and advanced technological gains through the inclusion of women.
Successfully addressing
the gender gaps in these areas can unlock significant commercial and
socio-economic opportunities, benefiting businesses, women, and societies.
But Asim explained the
gender disparity in the technology ecosystem may be due to many women not
paying "close attention to technology."
According to her, women
"fall short when it comes to tech innovation, career involvement and
having a stronger voice in the tech ecosystem," in spite of being arguably
biggest consumers of technology. Giving examples of Oreoluwa Somolu Lesi is the
Founder and Executive Director of the Women's Technology Empowerment Centre
(WTEC) and Uneku Atawodi, the General Manager of the Meltwater Entrepreneurial
School of Technology (MEST), Asim said women were already breaking the glass
ceiling in the Nigerian tech industry.
She advised the federal
government to invest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
(STEM). She said Nigeria would only be able to compete in the world tech space
if only the government could prioritise investment in those areas.
"The government at
the federal level needs to earmark a strategy that will drive STEM education
for girls all over the country," she said.
Giving her opening
remark at Africa's biggest technology conference, Chairperson of Alliance for
Affordable Internet, Dr. Omobola Johnson, stated that developments in
technology are fundamentally altering the way people live, connect, communicate
and transact. These developments, in her view, have had profound effects on economic
development in Nigeria and Africa at large. According to her, to promote tech
advancement, developing countries should invest in quality education for youth,
continuous skills training for workers and managers for all stakeholders to
understand the importance of the continuous revolution.
TECHPLUS is a gathering
of everything technology, providing a robust tripartite tech experience through
its conferences, exhibitions and gaming structures whilst serving as a platform
for knowledge sharing and networking for the consumers and businesses.